Suzuki Forenza

Here is the new place to discuss your thoughts on the upcoming Suzuki Forenza "premium compact" sedan. This car is set to come out next spring as an 04 model and is basically a rebadged Daewoo. Here's a link to specs and photos:

Personally, I think the interior is beautiful. A real surprise for such an inexpensive car. It looks very VW. The exterior has a nice European style. Leather, ABS, traction control, and power sunroof are options (side airbags seem to be missing). 4 wheel discs and 8 speaker CD/cassette is standard as is the usual power accessories. Prices are expected to be between 12-15k. The engine is a disappointment though. The 2.0 liter DOHC 16 valve four only makes 119 hp. What does everyone else think?

The Aerio is not grade A on the inside, but for a vehicle with that much space and nice tall seating position, compared to say, Neon and Cavalier? Its nice enough......the big problem with it is the digital dash. The door panels are pretty nice.

A year ago, I would have agreed with you. I used to hate digital gauges. Now, however, I think the digital dash works quite well. It's bright, easily readable at a glance, looks sort of futuristic, and does not intrude on your forward visibility thanks to its compact design. It definitely doesn't look classy like analog gauges, but at least the Aerio has a tachometer unlike the early digital guages of the 80s. I think what makes people not like the digital dash is the odd dash design.

Somebody posted a pic of a disguised test mule Forenza over on the C-- and D----- (isn't this "don't mention other boards" rule supremely annoying?) message board. They thought it was a 2004 Nissan Altima, and people were agreeing! I had to post a pic of the Forenza to clear things up. Considering that the Altima's styling seems to be well received (though I'm not a big fan myself), I guess that's a good omen for the Forenza.

Not a bad looking vehicle in person. I wonder how it will drive? V6, on paper, does not seem strong enough to compete with other V6 models. Still think the name is too close to the Olds Firenza of the 1980s.

Heck, I can't even *remember* the names Forenza and Verona off the top of my head.

Someone said (I forget who) that the Forenza is a 3rd update of the Nubira, which is based on an old Corolla platform. Maybe someone can verify if that's true, and what vintage Corolla, and how much it remains a Corolla design under the skin, or if it has basically all been updated piecemeal.

As far as I know, the Nubira has no ties whatsoever to the Corolla and yes the Forenza is what the redesigned Nubira would have been had Daewoo stuck around. I'm not sure what the Nubira was based on but I seem to remember it had ties to an Opel platform, which is GM's European arm.

In Canada we don't get the Forenza,we a car called the Swift. Very small,but also a Daewoo car. I think it's a mistake to bring these cars here. Daewoo tryed here and in the U.S. Both FAILED. Suzuki already makes cars for others markets that are not sold here. Why not try them first, instead of cars from a FAILED company in Canada and the U.S.

I was all ready to laugh, but this car actually has a chance here. A new name and engine wouldn't hurt though. The interior is pure VW and Ford Mondeo, the Ford being patterned after the VW in the first place. This has to make all those former Daewoo dealers irate.

As was stated in msg 6, Canada will get the car as a Chevrolet Optra. There is a problem in the article, though. The picture is of the small sedan (Kalos/Aveo), but the stats are for the Lacetti/Forenza (such as the 2.0 liter engine). Maybe the Aveo hatchback will be called the Swift and the sedan is the Optra? Or maybe the Optra is the Forenza. Unclear.

Anyway, the Korean model is the "Lacetti," (a 3rd iteration of the "Nubira.") The U.S. model is the Suzuki Forenza, and the Canadian model is the Chevrolet Optra (maybe).

And similar naming acrobatics were performed on the smaller Kalos/Chevrolet Aveo/Suzuki Swift and the larger Magnus/Suzuki Verona/Chevrolet Epica.

Actually that canadian article had the wrong photo attached to it. The Chevy Optra is the Suzuki Forenza is the Lacetti is the 3rd generation Nubira. The Kalos is coming to Canada as the Aveo and the Swift, and the Magnus/Leganza as the Chevy Epica and the Suzuki Verona. From what I saw at the Toronto auto show there is a difference between the Chevy and Suzuki models. It has to do with the quality of the trim. The Chevy's were more cheap and had an ugly plastic grille. While the Suzuki's seemed more Daewooish with better trim, and kept the original daewoo Grilles as they appear on the Korean models but with an 'S' in the middle of the Grille. The new Nubira/Forenza/Optra will use the same existing Nubira powertrain. The Nubira was not based on anything GM makes. It was designed from scratch at the worthington technical center in the UK. The only GM heritage in it is the powertrain being identical engine to the Holden/Opel/Vauxhall Vectras 2.0L DOHC, and using the GM4T40E auto tranny. The only Daewoo car that was fully based on an Opel platform is the Lanos which is an enhanced Opel Kadett.

I would appreciate it if you stoppped making rude comments about cars. These cars are VERY nice looking IMO and I'm sure many other people agree. I find it very nice that leather is available on such a cheap car. GO SUZUKI!